Peace on SG1
by Maeve Bran
Summary: Post "Unending", Daniel and Vala are trapped and must deal with their feelings for each other.


**Title**: Peace on SG1

**Author**: Maeve Bran

**Rating**: M

**Summary**: Daniel and Vala are trapped and must deal with their feelings for each other.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Stargate SG1. I'm just having some Fruitcakey fun. )

**Spoilers**: Everything up to and including Unending 10.20 for Stargate SG1 and general season 4 spoilers for Stargate Atlantis.

**Notes**: For kamiikiteiru in the 2007 Fruitcake Holiday exchange. Her prompt was "Daniel realizes he loves Vala post-Unending."

* * *

Daniel looked over at his companion-- not that he could see her in the darkness of the temple they were trapped in. He really wished he could blame their current predicament on Vala, but he knew he was the one who'd pressed the raised glyph that sealed off the central chamber they were in. They were lucky that for once they both had their packs and neither was injured-- a rarity indeed. All they had to do was survive until Mitchell could get back with help.

Unlike previous times when he'd needed to survive, Daniel knew it wasn't the lack of supplies that might get him killed. It was whether or not he and Vala could keep from killing each other. Fortunately it was looking good; Vala had been quiet and calm so far.

"Daniel?" Vala inquired, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," returned the archeologist. "What do you want?"

"I was just making sure you were still conscious," Vala replied.

"Why would you think I was unconscious? I haven't injured my head, nor have I had anything that could have been drugged," Daniel asked, puzzled.

"No reason," Vala said, evasively.

Daniel rummaged in his pack and came up with a flashlight so he could see Vala's expression. Surprisingly, she looked genuinely concerned about him, rather than being flip.

"Why would you assume I was unconscious?" he asked.

"Well, I've finally managed to read your file, and it seems to me that anytime you were stranded off world you've been unconscious," Vala answered, logically.

"It's only happened a couple of times," he protested. "Wait a second, who gave you my file?"

"Jack did," she defended herself. "It was after you were taken by my psychotic daughter."

"Why?"

"He was at the Mountain for a briefing on what was going on and I asked him why he and the rest of SG1 weren't so concerned for your safety," Vala began to explain. "Jack said that your track record was better than average at returning from the dead so a little thing like kidnapping wasn't that big of a deal. I asked him what track record, and he said he didn't have time to explain. So he snuck your file to me and told me to return it to Sgt. Harriman when I was done as the sergeant would see it got back to the right place."

"Oh," was all Daniel could manage by way of reply. How ironic that he, who spoke thirty odd languages, couldn't find words in any of them to express his feelings at his best friend aiding the bane of his existence. Well, that wasn't fair. Vala infuriated him, but she also brought light into his all too often dim world. Vala would drag him out of his office and make him join in activities with the others if he spent too much time with his books and artifacts. She touched areas of his life that he'd thought were long gone.

Vala's teeth started to chatter as the stone that surrounded them started to cool off with the setting of the sun. She reached into her pack and pulled out her sleeping bag and then removed her boots. She started to get into the bag, then reached back into her pack and pulled out a flannel pajama set. Finally, she removed her jacket and started to pull off her black tee shirt.

"What are you doing?" Daniel exclaimed.

"I thought that was rather obvious, darling. I'm getting ready for bed since there is nothing else to do and it is getting cold," Vala replied reasonably. "Unless you have a better idea on how to keep warm?"

"Uh no," Daniel turned down her blatant invitation. "Just give a guy some warning next time."

"Why? You've already seen everything. You told me as much last year even though you tried to deny looking on the Prometheus," Vala teased.

Daniel didn't have a good answer for that, so he kept his mouth shut and turned his back to her. He dug in his own pack and removed his sleeping bag as well. He'd hate to admit it, but there really wasn't much else to do. He had examined all the walls already, and save that one glyph they were devoid of any writing. The glyph itself was no longer raised and he doubted it would be much help. He'd make a fresh start at trying to solve the puzzle to get them out of here after some sleep.

"You can turn around now, Daniel," Vala called as she wriggled into her sleeping bag.

Daniel turned so he could use the flashlight to undo his boots, which he then removed. He dug in his pack and pulled out an Air Force sweatshirt. He looked over at Vala and saw that she was lying with an arm over her eyes so he decided to risk it. He quickly removed his jacket and shirt and slipped on the sweatshirt.

"Why, darling, I had no idea you were so well muscled," Vala drawled.

"I thought you weren't looking," Daniel accused, trying to ignore her comment about his body.

"Why would I do that when this might be my only chance to see what you've been holding out on me?" Vala said lightly.

"Fine. Take a good look as this is your only chance," Daniel said defeatedly. He pulled out a pair of flannel pajama pants from his pack before unbuttoning his BDU pants. He shed those as quickly as he could, then yanked on the pajama pants and dived into his sleeping bag before Vala could say much of anything.

"Enjoy the show?" he inquired, faintly bitterly.

"What I could see of it, yes," Vala replied, amused.

They lapsed into silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Daniel was annoyed at himself for baiting Vala the way he had with the peep show. He should have known that she wouldn't be able to resist. He disliked her sexual innuendos, and here he was giving her more fuel for the fire.

Vala was cursing herself for teasing him. She knew that she should be trying to show him that her feelings weren't as shallow as he thought. Ever since they had returned back from their time on the Odyssey, Daniel had been avoiding her. She knew her stunt with the surprise party had annoyed him, but she didn't know it had been enough for him to avoid her. So when this mission had come up, she had jumped at the chance to be Daniel's assistant. Since Sam was busy getting ready to go to Atlantis and Teal'c was busy with a mission to the Jaffa, that just left Mitchell to watch the perimeter, so it would give them plenty of time together uninterrupted.

She suspected that the reason for this little archeological expedition to an uninhabited world at this time was to keep Daniel from getting too depressed over the fact that he hadn't been the one chosen to lead the Atlantis Expedition in Weir's absence. She'd resolved to try to be better and make sure Daniel had a good time doing his archeological thing.

"Daniel, can I ask you a question?" Vala inquired after the silence had drug on for what seemed like hours.

Uh oh, Daniel thought, here we go again. "Sure," he answered.

"Do you hate me?" she asked in a barely audible whisper.

"No," Daniel said emphatically. "Why would you even ask that?"

"Because you sometimes act as if you do-- like you wish the Prior hadn't revived me back in Ver Ager," Vala replied seriously in a slightly louder voice.

"I'd never wish that. Not even when you annoy me the most," Daniel said. "If I had really wanted you out of my life would I have spent weeks with very little to no sleep to find you after Athena had kidnapped you?"

"I guess not," Vala agreed. "You really went without sleep to find me?"

Daniel scooted his sleeping bag closer to hers and reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. "I really did. General Landry had to order me to get some sleep at one point. I meant what I said when we found you. This is your home and we, the SGC and SG1 specifically, are your family. You belong with us."

"Is that all you feel?" she asked, feeling a little bolder since he had willingly come into physical contact with her. If he hadn't made that move, she never would open herself up to the possible rejection.

"What exactly are you asking me? Are you asking if I have serious feelings for you?" he asked, puzzled.

Vala wasn't sure how to answer, but took it as a good sign that although he had removed his hand from her shoulder, he hadn't moved away from her. Surely if he truly disliked her he would have moved away from her.

"I wasn't suggesting serious feelings exactly; just something more than family feelings," Vala answered, tentatively.

"To be honest, I'm not sure what I feel," Daniel started to explain. "I'm proud of you for proving me right when I told General Landry and the others we could trust you. But on a personal level, I'm just barely getting over my wife and the fear of being hurt that way again. I'm an emotional unstable wreck and I'm just not sure that I can trust you with my feelings."

"Why not?" Vala asked, curiously. She knew she should be offended at what he was implying, but he was actually opening up to her about what he was feeling so she'd think of this as progress.

"You never seem to be serious. You've played me more than once since we met," Daniel replied. "You seem to make a sport out of teasing me when you're bored. Just look at what you did on the Odyssey."

"What did I do?" she asked, wondering for which of her actions he was condemning her now.

"You wasted the crew's valuable time throwing a surprise party for me when you knew full well it wasn't my birthday. Then you called me there under false pretenses, wasting my time as well-- just because you were bored," he replied evenly.

Vala sat up and scooted back a foot or so, until her back hit one of the walls for support. She gave up all pretenses of trying to sleep so she could correct a few of Daniel's false assumptions about her.

Daniel scooted till he too was sitting propped up by the wall, but he kept close to her.

"I didn't throw that party because I was bored-- at least not entirely," Vala sighed. Daniel gave her a quizzical look so she continued. "I had actually gotten permission from General Landry to get the off duty crew together to throw a un-birthday party for you."

"What?! Why?" he asked, surprised.

"After I read your file, I asked Samantha what it meant that you were raised by foster parents. She told me that you never mention it, but from the way you act sometimes she always thought it wasn't pleasant. She also said that you haven't really celebrated your birthday since she had known you. So I wanted to do something nice for you. After all, you've done so much for me and, as you have pointed out, I've teased you unmercifully," Vala explained. "I didn't want to wait for your birthday since who knows what will have happened by then. Besides, with you on the ship, you couldn't really escape and there was no pressing work. Landry thought it might be a good morale booster, too."

Daniel was stunned. Of all the possible motives for Vala's little stunt on the Odyssey, this was the very last that would have occurred to him. No one had ever tried to do anything to celebrate his birthday, not since his parents had died. Maybe there really was more to Vala than met the eye.

"I'm sorry I was such an ass about the party," Daniel apologized.

"You can make it up to me by letting me throw you a real party next week," Vala accepted.

"What happens next week?" Daniel asked.

"It's your birthday," Vala answered. "If I've done the math correctly it is your forty-second birthday and Teal'c informs me that the number forty-two is the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, so it will have to be an extra special party."

"Of course. You plan it, I'll be there," Daniel affirmed, amused and touched by her calculations. "Now, I think I'll get some sleep." He scooted so he could lay flat.

"Certainly, darling," Vala said as she likewise settled down to sleep.

Hours later, Daniel woke to the sound of clattering. He looked around in the dim light of the flashlight, which he had forgotten to turn off before falling asleep, to find Vala shivering in her sleeping bag. The noise that woke him was her teeth chattering. Now that he was awake, he felt the cold seeping into his bones too. He scooted over to Vala and shook her awake.

"Vala, you're freezing," Daniel stated the obvious.

"I kn-know, dar-darling," she said through chattering teeth.

"Get over here," he commanded as he unzipped his sleeping bag.

"What? Now? Isn't this a bad time for that?" Vala asked, puzzled.

"Vala, get your mind out of the gutter. I just mean we should share body heat to keep warm. Bring your sleeping bag, we'll open it up and tuck it around us for extra insulation," Daniel explained.

Vala quickly did as asked. As much as she enjoyed teasing Daniel, she enjoyed being warm more. She also wasn't going to do anything that would wreck her chance at sleeping with Daniel even if it was in the literal sense. It took a few tries to get settled, but eventually they found a comfortable position. Vala pillowed her head on his out-flung arm and he tucked his other arm around his own waist.

Sometime much latter, Daniel woke again. This time Vala was half lying on top of him and he had an arm around her. He savored the feeling of being that close to somebody again. It was one of the things he had missed most in all those years since Sha're was taken from him-- waking up and knowing you're not alone in the universe. It was times like this, when Vala wasn't flirting with or teasing him, that he let himself think about what Vala meant to him. He knew he had serious feelings for her, but he wasn't about to admit that when he was unsure of what she really felt. He could sort that out later; for now he was just going to enjoy the feeling of being close to someone.

Vala woke a few minutes later, puzzled to find herself draped over Daniel. She had dreamed of such a moment ever since she had abducted him two and half years ago. Never, though, had she pictured it happening because they had been stranded off world. However it had happened, she was grateful. Maybe now Daniel would listen and believe her if she confessed her love for him. She knew it would be an uphill battle, but hopefully she had demonstrated that she had changed enough.

Vala propped herself up on one elbow to look Daniel straight in the eye. There was enough light from the long forgotten flashlight to see his face clearly. He was looking at her strangely.

"Daniel, I love you," she said without breaking eye contact.

Daniel was stunned but the look in her eyes told him she was serious. He did the only thing he could think of and pulled her closer, kissing her.

"You had better not be messing with me," Daniel pulled back briefly to admonish her.

"I'm not, Daniel," Vala said, then bent down again to take his lips with hers.

Daniel ran his hands down her back and found the hem of her pajama top. He ran his hands up under the soft fabric to caress the bare skin of her back. Vala squirmed, trying to get closer to him, then ran her own hands under his sweatshirt.

Daniel pulled his lips from hers to take a breath. "I love you, too," he said softly.

Vala sat back as much as she could manage in the smallish sleeping bag. "You do?"

"Yes, Vala. It's taken me awhile to figure it out. Even longer for me to admit it to myself, but I love you," Daniel confessed.

Vala moved so fast that she almost fell on top of him. She captured his mouth and kissed him for all that she was worth. His hands pushed her top up farther and farther until she had to break off their kisses to let him take it off of her. She used the gap in kisses to yank his sweatshirt off as well. Then they lay back down and resumed their activities.

Daniel's agile hands were never still-- they caressed her back, her breasts, and her arms before sliding down to her waist and dipping below her pants and underwear to caress her hips. He then pushed her pants and panties down as far as he could without moving his head. Vala reciprocated, impatiently pushing his pants out of the way as well.

Two days later, they were startled out of sound sleep by the large wall moving out of the way. Before either was awake enough to try to struggle out of the sleeping bag, Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell squeezed into their room.

"Looks like I won the bet," Mitchell said by way of greeting.

"What bet?" Daniel demanded as he managed to disentangle himself from Vala. Fortunately, they'd put their clothes back on for warmth before falling asleep; he didn't want to think about how awkward this might have been had Mitchell walked in a few hours earlier.

"General O'Neill came to the Mountain and bet me that you two would have killed each other by the time we managed to rescue you. I bet that you'd... uh... well, make up your differences," he explained.

Vala watched the two men, wary of what Daniel might do, as she vacated the sleeping bag. Daniel, however, simply looked at the other man for a moment, then laughed. "Sounds like Jack," he said as he busily began to pack his things. She, too, was packing up the few things she had taken from her pack.

Once they were done, Mitchell escorted them out of the temple. He noted that Daniel and Vala were holding hands as they left.

"Maybe now there will be some peace on SG1," he mused.

fin


End file.
